Bnei Akiva Shabbat Lashem Leaflet - Parasha Shoftim 5780

.‫זכור את־יום השבת לקדשו‬ ,‫ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל־מלאכתך‬ ‘‫ויום השביעי שבת לה‬

SHABBAT LASHEM

PARASHAT SHOFTIM

2 ND ELUL 578O 21 ST & 22 ND AUGUST 2O2O VOLUME 3O ISSUE 47

THE VOICE OF BNEI AKIVA UK

MAKE TODAY A BLESSING ROBERT AUERBACH SHEVET HINEINI

As we head into the month of Elul, we enter a time of reflection and repentance. As we begin to look towards the end of the month, which is a time that we are judged over, I find it satirical that the first parasha of Elul is Parashat Shoftim. This is the parasha in which Moshe reviews the justice system for Bnei Yisrael and how the justice process works in his final speech. “You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities that the Lord, your God, is giving you, for your tribes, and they shall judge the people [with] righteous judgment.” (Devarim 16:18). He uses this time to mention the future kings of Israel and what is to become of the nation as they enter Eretz Yisrael.

In this week’s parasha we learn: “the testimony of one witness does not stand against a person with regard to any sin or iniquity that they may have committed; a case can be established [only] through the testimony of [at least] two or three witnesses.” Devarim 19:15). This raises one important question; why is it so important to have two or three witnesses on a crime rather than just one? This question is emphasized when the penalty of false testimony is so severe (a convicted false witness’s penalty is the penalty that would have been afflicted upon the person they accused).

This is due to a couple of reasons, the first being that no matter how credible or reliable the witness may be it is still not enough to sentence a person and tarnish their reputation if the witLondon In: 19:54 Out: 21:03 Manchester In: 20:05 Out: 21:19 Cambridge In: 19:52 Out: 21:04

‫בס”ד‬

ness stands alone; this is because depending on the situation, the witness may have seen something and assumed that the person was breaking halacha when in fact the situation allowed them to do so. To resolve this, two independent witness are required before a conviction can occur.

Another reason the Lubavitcher Rebbe gives for this is that there are two types of witnesses and Moshe uses this wording in order to emphasise this. The first is a witness who verifies specific facts or events. This can be seen, for example, when a witness is required to testify against someone for a crime they committed, often a bystander. The second is a witness who was themselves an integral part of the events. This can be seen for example in a ketubah (marriage certificate) or get (divorce certificate) where witnesses are required to sign the documents, as according to Jewish law a couple cannot become husband and wife without the presence of bonafide witnesses.

This reason is slightly peculiar, but when we delve deeper into it we find that not only does the reason for having two witnesses make sense in terms of the first reason but it also makes sense in terms of the second as it allows for us to see in which situations witnesses are needed.

It is this parasha, Parashat Shoftim, that Moshe lays out a plan for how he expects Bnei Yisrael to approach halacha and other such areas of Judaism. While doing this he uses witnesses to help establish a legal system that will not be corrupt.

“You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show favouritism, and you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts just words” (Devarim 16:19).

Shabbat shalom!

ROB WAS A MADRICH ON MACHANE ARI 578O.

Oxford In: 19:56 Out: 21:08 Bristol In: 20:01 Out: 21:12 Birmingham In: 20:01 Out: 21:14

Leeds In: 20:03 Out: 21:18 Liverpool In: 20:07 Out: 21:22 Jerusalem In: 18:40 Out: 19:53

SHOFTIM 578O: A SIMPLE LIFE CHANA BE’ERI | CHINUCH WORKER

When writing a Sefer Torah, certain specific letters are traditionally written larger or smaller than the rest. Parashat Shoftim features a large letter tav as part of the following commandment:

due to a lack of appreciation of the complexity of the world. It is the ability to be wholehearted and complete in one’s relationship with God despite all that complexity. It is acceptance of the fact that one can never truly understand God’s plan. This is the quality of Ya’akov that we are commanded to embody in this week’s parasha.

‫תָּמִים תּ ִהְי ֶה עִם ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ׃‬

When we read the tale of the four sons, we see clear differences in the responses given to their questions. The wicked son and the son who does not know how to ask are rejected; they are not included in God’s redemption. The wise son is given a technical, nitty-gritty answer to his question. Only the simple son is told “with great strength Hashem brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery”. Only he, with his child-like sense of wonder, is able to fathom the great miracle that inspired the night’s celebrations.

“You must be tamim with Hashem your God.” (Devarim 18:13) The word ‘tamim’ is often tranlsated as simple.

Tam is the simple son of the Pesach seder, the one who seems confused by the situation and requires basic answers to his questions. Tam is unsophisticated, childish, perhaps even stupid, and lacks a nuanced understanding of the laws and ordinances that Chacham, the wise son, seeks to comprehend.

It hardly seems like a positive charactertrait to emulate, and yet here we are commanded to make temimut the essential characteristic of our relationship with God!

IF ONE APPROACHES THE WORLD THROUGH A LENS OF OPENNESS AND ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY, ACCEPTING THE TORAH IS EASY.

This strange mitzvah comes in the context of the prohibition against engaging in various kinds of divination and sorcery, practices which were common among the Canaanite nations.

Rashi therefore understands the command to “be tamim” as an extension of this prohibition: rather than attempting to manipulate the world or investigate the future, we need to out our faith in God and accept His Divine plan. Practicing witchcraft or even believing in superstition is essentially a form of idolatry, denying God as the only source of power in the universe. ‘Tamim’ in this sense means ‘wholehearted’, reflecting our complete devotion to God. Famously, Ya’akov Avinu is described as ‫ש‬ ׁ ‫אִי‬ ‫תּ ָם‬, a simple man (Bereishit 25:27). This does not refer to him being simple-minded – after all, he was able to trick his brother out of the birthright and counter all of Lavan’s attempts to manipulate him. The simplicity of temimut is not

The Ba’al Haturim explains that the large letter tav symbolises the fact that if one is tamim with Hashem, it is as if one has fulfilled the Torah from alef to tav i.e. in its entirety. If one approaches the world through a lens of openness and acceptance of God’s sovereignty, accepting the Torah is easy. There will be no challenges to grapple with, no difficulty fulfilling elements of it that a person does not understand. Temimut negates the need for full comprehension as a prerequisite for keeping the Torah’s commandments.

We have just entered the month of Elul, when we blow the shofar daily. The Bartenura on the Mishna Rosh Hashana (3:3) tells us that the shofar of Rosh Hashana is the straight horn of a mountain goat because our tefillot on Rosh Hashana should be straight and simple. We are not judged for the details of our actions.

Rather, it is our attitudes and our connection to Hashem that influence how we will be seen on Rosh Hashana. Elul is the time to focus on temimut, wholeness and simplicity, as we assess our relationship with God.

A TASTE FROM THE ARCHIVES: SHOFTIM 5771 JUDGING YOURSELF, A TORAH REQUIREMENT In Parashat Shoftim we are commanded to appoint judges and we are told how they should behave in a righteous manner: ’‫שֶר ה‬ ׁ ‫א‬ ֲ ָ ‫שעָרֶיך‬ ׁ ְ ‫טרִים תּ ִתּ ֶן־ל ְך ָ ּבְכ ָל־‬ ְ ֹ‫ש‬ ׁ ְ ‫פטִים ו‬ ְ ֹ‫ש‬ ׁ ּ ‫ש‬ ‫ְפַט־‬ ׁ ‫מ‬ ִ ‫העָם‬ ָ ‫שפְטו ּ אֶת־‬ ׁ ָ ְ ‫שבָטֶיך ָ ו‬ ׁ ְ ִ ‫אֱלֹקֶיך ָ נֹתֵן ל ְך ָ ל‬ ‫ כ‬:‫צֶדֶק‬ “Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourselves in all the gates that Hashem has given you for your tribes, and they shall judge the nation with righteous judgement.”

(Devarim 16:18)

Hashem’s will without taking into account any external influences. This is how a judge should be judging. When a situation is brought before him, he must ignore all outside factors and decide the clear, pure will of Hashem as presented to mankind through the Torah. Just like an angel, no external influences should be taken into consideration.

Rav Moshe Feinstein, however, offers an alternative explanation to the above pasuk. Instead of reading “judges and officers you shall appoint for yourselves” The Kli Yakar explains that this pasuk is it should be read “every person must be a addressing those who are appointing the judge over himself”. Each person must view judges, i.e. the powerful people in the themselves as if he is a judge and judge community, and not himself to ensure that to the community they are doing what is as a whole. This is THAT A JUDGE IS SIMILAR right. because the pasuk TO AN ANGEL AS ANGELS is inconsistent and ARE DESCRIBED AS NOT This interpretation would say “and they the pasuk is the TURNING FROM SIDE TO of shall judge you” if it perfect reminder to SIDE AS THEY MOVE was referring to the each of us as we begin whole community. the month of Elul.

Therefore, the important members of We should use this opportunity to judge the community should be careful not to ourselves and like the angels, go straight appoint shoftim that will show preferential in accordance with Hashem’s will, ignoring treatment to those who appointed the external pressures around us. them. As such, the pasuk can be read: “Judges and officers you shall appoint for yourselves”, i.e. the important members THIS DVAR TORAH WAS WRITTEN BY MIof the community, and, if you have done this, you can be certain that the general CHELLE HART (NOW POMERANCE) (SHEpopulation will be judged “with righteous VET ACHIYA) AND WAS FIRST PUBLISHED judgement”.

IN SHABBAT LASHEM VOLUME 17, ISSUE The Gemara in Moed Katan (17a) describes some parameters as to the type of person who should be chosen as a judge. Rabbi Yochanan taught: “If the judge is like an angel of Hashem, then seek Torah from him.” Darchei Musar explains that a judge is similar to an angel as angels are described as not turning from side to side as they move. They go straight in accordance with

46 ON 3RD SEPTEMBER 2O11.

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WHAT’S GOING ON?

- We are delighted to launch applications for WINTER MACHANE 5781! Join us at an exciting new site from 21st-28th December and enjoy a fantastic Bnei Akiva residential full of fun, friends and Ruach! NEW THIS YEAR: Machane Seenai for Year 11! Sign up today at bauk.org/camps or email camps@bauk.org for more information.

- WE NEED YOUR HELP! Coronavirus has hit Bnei Akiva hard, costing us over £150,000. Over the last six months our Mazkirut and Bogrim have been working tirelessly to put on a range of fantastic programming for our youth, from Machane Aviv in the Spring, to a celebration of Israel like no other on Yom Ha’atzmaut, and now a packed summer of programming for over 400 children. Please support our Yad Achim Campaign. Visit bauk.org/yad-achim for more information and to donate.

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- Look out for Inspiration-Elul, a series of short daily videos containing thoughts from bogrim in the lead-up to the Yamim Noraim. Available on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. - We are launching a chesed initiative planned

by madrichim and chanichim who volunteered at GIFT this week: donate your old football shirts, shorts and boots to those who can’t afford them! Drop off any donations (clean and in good condition) at the London Bayit.

- Mazal tov to Yehuda Fink (Technical Director 5775, Shevet Shvut) and Jodie Collets (Shevet Hagevurah) on their engagament!

- Mazal tov to Zahava Hill (Shevet Morasha) on her Aliyah!

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT 1. Why is it forbidden to alter the tribal land boundaries of Eretz Yisrael? (See Rabbeinu Bachya on 19:14) 2. Why is Am Yisrael addressed in the singular in the context of going out to war? (See Alshich on 20:1)

SHABBAT SHALOM!!!

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